More Pinoys in Syria seek repatriation

AN ADDITIONAL 1,300 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Syria have expressed willingness to be repatriated from the strifetorn Middle East country, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).

Citing a report from the Philippine Embassy in Damascus, the DFA yesterday said the OFWs’ repatriation papers were being processed by the mission.

“At least 130 of the would-be repatriates are sheltered at the embassy’s halfway quarters in Damascus,” said the foreign office.

According to DFA spokesperson Raul Hernandez, “The Philippine Embassy, led by Charge d’Affaires Olivia Palala, is doing everything to implement the government’s mandatory repatriation program, which calls for the immediate evacuation of Philippine nationals in Syria due to the worsening security situation in many parts of that country.”

So far, the DFA has repatriated a total of 1,734 Philippine nationals based in Syria.

An additional 27 OFWs were scheduled to be brought home yesterday by the government, while another 10 were expected to be evacuated by a DFA-led team today.

The DFA has repeatedly said it would “continue the repatriation operations for as long as necessary in line with the third pillar of Philippine foreign policy—the protection of Filipinos overseas.”